Chapter 34: Arrangements for the Pirates

The chefs from the Fang family had quite good skills, and the other supplies on the island were relatively abundant. The dishes they prepared were diverse, colorful, and fragrant, making one's mouth water. However, after eating a little to satisfy his hunger, Fang Yun didn't continue. 

Although the food was delicious, it was ultimately just ordinary fare. Eating too much wouldn't benefit him.

After sharing a meal with the elders of the family and watching some opera, Fang Yun followed Fang Lin to the place where the pirates were being settled. To accommodate these pirates, Fang Lin had enclosed a space outside the town, built some thatched huts casually, and provided them with simple food.

Although the conditions were rudimentary, the area had guards watching over it, so there was no fear of them causing trouble. Upon arriving at the pirates' settlement, Fang Yun walked in. The once rowdy pirates instantly fell silent. 

They had witnessed Fang Yun casting the Fireball Technique to bombard those innate martial artists and the scene where he killed Qingmu Shangren. The terrifying power of that event still instilled fear in them.

Fang Yun ignored the fearful looks from the pirates. After glancing around and seeing that they appeared healthy, which wouldn't hinder his plans for clearing land, he chose not to concern himself with them any further. He turned to Fang Lin and asked, 

"Elder, where are the few innate martial artists? Where are they being held?"

"Patriarch, those individuals are being held inside the town. After all, they are different from these ordinary pirates; they possess some strength. If they were to cause trouble, the guards might not be able to contain them. Do you need them for anything?"

Fang Yun shook his head. 

"Not really. Didn't I say before that I wanted these pirates to help me survey the surrounding wasteland? Keeping those innate martial artists locked up is of no use. It's better to let them out as overseers. With these pirate leaders around, the others will be more motivated to work!"

Fang Lin hesitated and replied, "But Patriarch, what if they escape?"

Fang Yun thought for a moment and realized Fang Lin's concerns were valid. After all, besides the Black Widow's poison, he had no other means to control those innate martial artists. 

As for the Black Widow, there was really no way for him to control her; it was merely based on his intimidation. If they truly managed to escape, the Fang family would have no means to deal with them.

"Well then, Elder, do you have any suggestions? We can't just keep them locked up forever; it would have been better to kill them from the start to save on food!"

Fang Lin thought for a while and could only shake his head; he didn't have a good solution either. This was also why he had initially wanted to either kill or sell these people.

Seeing that Fang Lin had no ideas, Fang Yun eventually said, "Since there are no good suggestions, let's just release them for now and have them oversee the other pirates in quickly reclaiming the wasteland."

The reason he insisted on letting those innate martial artists out was that, as pirate leaders, they were more familiar with the nature of these pirates and would be more suitable for directing them. Using Fang family members for supervision was also possible, but it would be more labor-intensive, and the pirates might not work diligently.

As for the concern about whether those innate martial artists would run away, Fang Yun didn't want to waste too much time thinking about it. If they did manage to escape, it would just be their luck. 

The main task now was to organize these pirates to quickly reclaim land on the plains in Jiangnan, away from the Yangtze River, so he could plant yellow beans and gather vital energy as soon as possible. There was no need to worry about other trivial matters.

Fang Lin nodded; since the Patriarch said so, he didn't need to insist on opposing it. He turned and headed back toward the town. Fang Yun followed him out of the pirates' gathering place. As the two of them left, the gathering place of the pirates became lively again. Moreover, their earlier unguarded conversation had spread among the pirates.

Now that they had clarity on their future work, the pirates finally felt at ease.

It wasn't that they were born to be worthless and eager to help Fang Yun clear the wasteland. Instead, in the absence of arrangements, these pirates were worried that the Fang family might sell them to black markets in other places. 

Their fate would surely be much worse than it was now. The luckier ones would be sent to do hard labor in certain places, while those who were less fortunate might fall into the hands of some evil cultivators practicing sinister techniques, ultimately becoming resources for those evil practitioners.

In comparison, working for the Fang family on reclaiming wasteland, although still hard labor, was already a significant improvement for them.

Fang Yun stood not far from the pirates' gathering place and waited for a while. Fang Lin soon brought over the five innate martial artists. The five knelt respectfully before Fang Yun and said, "We pay our respects to the Immortal Master!"

Fang Yun nodded slightly. "Get up!"

Once the five stood up awkwardly, Fang Yun said, "I've called you here to organize the other pirates to clear all the remaining wasteland in the southern plains that has not yet been planted with rice."

"As long as you complete this task, not only can you remove your status as captives, but if you perform well, I won't mind giving you some rewards! Of course, if you take this opportunity to escape from Ling Shui Island, that's also fine. However, I hope you won't be caught by me; otherwise, you know the consequences!"

When Fang Yun said this, he primarily focused on the Black Widow. As the leader of the other four, and since they were all poisoned by her, their lives were in the Black Widow's hands. So, as long as she had no other thoughts, it wouldn't be so easy for the others to escape.

The Black Widow, a woman who had built a formidable pirate force on the sea, was clearly not an ordinary person. She realized that Fang Yun's words were directed at her, as he was staring at her. She firmly nodded. "Immortal Master, since I've been captured, I will certainly obey your words and won't dare to have any thoughts of escape."

Fang Yun looked deeply at the Black Widow, remaining noncommittal about her words.